Changing a flat tire on a car

How to Change a Tire: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

July 20, 2016 – 03:03 pm

1

Find a flat, stable and safe place to change your tire. You need a solid, level surface that will restrict the car from rolling. If you are near a road, park as far from traffic as possible and turn on your emergency flashers (hazard lights). Avoid soft ground and hills.

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2

Apply the parking brake and put car into "Park" position. If you have a standard transmission, put your vehicle in first or reverse.

3

Place a heavy object (e.g., rock, concrete, spare wheel, etc.) in front of the front and back tires.

Take out the spare tire and the jack. Place the jack under the frame near the tire that you are going to change. Ensure that the jack is in contact with the metal portion of your car's frame

Many cars have molded plastic along the bottom. If you don't place the jack in the right spot, it will crack the plastic when you start lifting. If you're not sure about the right place to put the jack, read your owner's manual.

For most modern uni-body cars, there is a small notch or mark just behind the front wheel wells, or in front of the rear wheel wells where the jack is intended to be placed.

For most trucks or older cars that have a frame, look to place the jack on one of the beams of the frame just behind the front tire or in front of the rear tire.

5

Raise the jack until it is supporting (but not lifting) the car. The jack should be firmly in place against the underside of the vehicle. Check to make sure that the jack is perpendicular to the ground.

Remove the hubcap and loosen the nuts by turning counterclockwise. Don't take them all the way off; just break the resistance. By keeping the wheel on the ground when you first loosen the nuts, you'll make that you're turning the nuts instead of the wheel.

Use the wrench that came with your car or a standard cross wrench. Your wrench may have different sizes of openings on different ends. A correctly-sized wrench will slip easily over the nut, but will not rattle.

Try to prepare for any unforeseen tire changes by keeping the exact socket size for your lug nuts as well as a breaker bar handy in the trunk.

It can take quite a lot of force to break your lug nuts free. If all else fails, you can use your body weight or stomp on the wrench (be absolutely certain you are turning it the correct way - counterclockwise). However, using your body weight or stomping means you run the risk of stripping the lug nuts, as it is difficult to maintain full contact.

A cross wrench will give you much more torque than a standard single-handled wrench.

Pump or crank the jack to lift the tire off the ground. You need to lift it high enough to remove the flat tire and replace it with a spare.

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Beavis and Butt-head are sitting on the curb outside their house as Butt-head repeatedly touches a 9-volt battery found by Beavis to his tongue. Two girls drive up...